Of Princeton, New Jersey

The chief petition we desire of God is that his will be done. God hears the prayer of his child when we ask according to his will. Therefore, when that is our chief petition, whatsoever we ask, we know we have the petitions that we desire of him because God always does his will. Listen

Having
recently witnessed God answer our prayers for Ravi and Debbie with Chloe, the
subject of prayer has been on my heart a great deal. If God will enable me, in
the coming weeks I would like to preach a few messages concerning what
scripture teaches about prayer, which the Lord has verified through this latest
trial. This time we will see from scripture what we have experienced most
recently.

1 John 5: 13: These things have I written unto you that believe on the name
of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may
believe on the name of the Son of God. 14:
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing
according to his will, he heareth us: 15:
And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the
petitions that we desired of him.

The
apostle John tells us to whom he wrote this epistle—“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the
Son of God.”This epistle applies to
believers.The things we see here
concerning prayer, applies to those who believe on the name of the Son of God.

Then he
gives his first purpose for writing this epistle—“that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe
on the name of the Son of God.” John wrote this epistle, so every believer
may not only believe on the Son of God, but
might know that ye have eternal life. And that you might press on
persevering in faith having all your confidence in Christ alone.I want every believer here to get this
settled in our hearts: if you have Christ—believing on the name of the Son of
God to save you, with all your confidence in Christ apart from any contribution
on your part—then you have eternal life as God’s free gift of grace in his Son.

1 John 5: 11: And this is the record, that God hath given
to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12: He that hath the Son hath
life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

This is
important becausethe more confident
we are that we have eternal life in Christ, the more confident we will be of
this next thing John wants us to know, that the Lord hears our prayer. Notice
the connection between confidence in Christ for salvation and confidence in
Christ hearing our prayer—“These things
have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may
know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son
of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any
thing according to his will, he heareth us:” Unless, I have confidence in
Christ for salvation, I cannot be confident that God will hear my prayers.But
the more our confidence of salvation is in Christ, the more we have confidence
in Christ that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

The last
thing John wants us to know is this—“And
if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the
petitions that we desired of him.”

Title:The Petition We Desire of Him

Proposition:
The chief petition we desire of God is that his will be done. God hears the
prayer of his child when we ask according
to his will.Therefore, when that is
our chief petition, whatsoever we ask, we know we have the petitions that we
desire of him because God always does his will.

CONFIDENCE IN CHRIST

1 John 5: 14: And this is the confidence that
we have in him,…

First, confidence
to approach Christ in prayer begins with confidence that Christ is my salvation.The
unbelieving man shall receive nothing from God because he does not ask in
faith, that is, with confidence in Christ his salvation.

James 1: 5:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men
liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6: But let him ask in faith, nothing
wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind
and tossed. 7: For let not that
man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

But those
who believe on Christ for Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption have
confidence in Christ our Salvation.

Hebrews 13: 5…he
hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6: So that we may boldly say, [with confident faith] The Lord is
my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

The Holy
Spirit has taught us in the new heart that by Christ’s one offering he
perfected forever all them that God sanctified by divine election so that there
is no more offering for sin. Our sins have been put away by Christ Jesus. We can
come to God with confidence in Christ through faith in him.

Hebrews 10: 19:
Having therefore, brethren, boldness [confidence of faith] to enter into the
holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20:
By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil,
that is to say, his flesh; 21: And
having an high priest over the house of God; 22: Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with
pure water.

The first
thing the child of God does when God gives him life and faith in Christ is pray.
Christ calmed Ananias fears of Saul, saying, “Behold, he prayeth.” (Acts 9: 11)The publican in Christ’s parable did what? He prayed, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” (Lu 18:
13) From then on the believer prays to Christ with confidence in him alone—prayer
is a state of being with the believer. We “pray
without ceasing” because we depend upon Christ every hour. (1 Thess 5: 17) Christ
said, “All things, whatsoever ye shall
ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” (Mt 21:22).

When
Christ is your confidence of salvation then you have the confidence to come to
his throne of grace for help in time of need. If you have not done so, cast all
your care on Christ!Put all your
confidence in Christ for salvation. “He
that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son hath not life.”

THE LORD WILL HEAR US

1 John 5: 14: And this is the confidence that
we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

Knowing
Christ ever lives to make intercession for us, our confidence in Christ is that
he will hear us.Notice the qualifier—“if we ask anything according to his will.”This applies to this verse and the next. Christ
taught us,

Matthew 6: 9: After this manner therefore pray ye: Our
Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10: Thy kingdom come. Thy
will be done in earth, as it is in
heaven.

But it is
more than simply saying “Thy will be
done.”

One, asking
according to God’s will, is to come to God our Father in the name of Christ our
Mediator—because this is God’s will.We pray in Christ’s name by praying in Christ’s
authority as our High Priest, our Mediator, our Intercessor.We come to God in Christ’s name trusting his
righteousness and shed blood for our acceptance with God in his holy place.

Two,
asking according to God’s will, is to pray with a heart in submission to God’s will.The believer is to submit to God’s revealed
will in his word. There are some things scripture teaches us that we can pray
specifically for because we know it is God’s will: for a brother afflicted, for
a brother who is sick, for a brother fallen into sin, for God’s preacher to
speak with boldness and for the gospel to go forth effectually, for
example.(Jam 5: 13-16; Eph 6:
18-20)

But there
are things concerning God’s will which are hidden, such as God’s will in providence.
Yet, we are in submission to God’s secret will in providence. The new heart
given by the Spirit of God is broken and contrite heart in submission to God. So
our desire is for God’s will alone to be done for his glory in all things. We
surrender all to God’s will, knowing God’s will is right and best at all times.

Now, at
times we pray in our flesh, asking for that which is not according to God’s
will, but for our own fleshly desires. James said, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” (Jas 4:3)But even then God hears his child because through
the Spirit, through Christ our Intercessor, our petition is presented to God
according to God’s will.

Romans 8: 26: Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our
infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the
Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered. 27: And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the
mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according
to the will of God.

Hebrews 7:25: Wherefore he is able also to save them to
the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them.

Since
there is so much that we do not know what to pray for as we ought, I love the
message that Mary and Martha sent to Christ concerning Lazarus, “He whom thou lovest is sick.” (Jn 11: 3)
That was it.They based their petition
on Christ’s love. And left it with him.Brethren,
the wisest thing for us to do is to lay our petition before God, asking his
will be done and leave it with him.

When one
of our little children comes to us, though he may not know what to ask for,
though he may ask for things he should not ask, we hear him, why? He is our son
looking to us to do what is best.God
always hears his child in Christ who asks for God’s will to be done.“And
this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according
to his will, he heareth us.”

WE HAVE OUR PETITION

1 John 5: 15: And if we know that he hear us,
whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Not only
does God hear us when we ask according to his will, but when we ask according
to his will we know that we have our petitions we desired of him.

This is
not what the vain religious world says about it. We are not talking about God
giving new cars and new houses and riches just for the asking.

The point
of this passage is that if we ask anything according to God’s will then we
know, whatever we ask, we have, right
then, our petitions. It is because God’s will shall be done.

From
eternity, God predestinated all things for his people in Christ according to
his will.He predestinated the hour when
each of his elect shall be given the Spirit of adoption, “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ
to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will...” (Eph 1: 5)God our Father predestinated our redemption
at Calvary and wicked men with wicked hands did what God determined before to
be done—and Christ redeemed us by his blood.(Acts 4: 27-28) He sent us the gospel by his will, “Having made known unto us the mystery of his
will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself.”
(Eph 1: 9)By the will of God we have
been freely given an inheritance in heaven, “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his
own will.” (Eph 1: 11)The point is,
nothing shall change God’s will.

Isaiah 46: 9: Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am
God, and there is none like me. 10Declaring the end from the beginning, and
from ancient times the things that
are not yet done, saying, My counsel
shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 11…yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have
purposed it, I will also do it.

Why pray
then?Be sure to get this!God
uses the means of prayer to make his child submit to God’s will. He makes us ask
that God’s will be done!Notice, in
Ezekiel 36, all of this is what God predestinated and brings to pass according
to his will:

Ezekiel 36: 25: Then will I sprinkle clean water upon
you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols,
will I cleanse you. 26: A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit
will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh,
and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27: And I will put my spirit
within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my
judgments, and do them. 28:
And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my
people, and I will be your God. 29: I will also save you from all your
uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no
famine upon you. 30: And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the
increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among
the heathen….36: Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that
I the LORD build the ruined places,
and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.

But catch
this next verse:

Ezekiel 36: 37: Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will
yet for this be enquired of
by the house of Israel, to do it for
them;…

Men say,
“Pray changes things.” It does not change God’s will. Prayer is God making his
people submit our will to God’s will. “And
if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask”—according to his will—“we know that we have the petitions that we
desired of him.”When we ask God’s
will be done in whatsoever it is we ask, then we know the moment we ask it, we
have the petitions we desired of him because God’s will shall be done.

Brethren,
all of us asked God’s will be done toward little Chloe. Our will was that he heal her. But when we asked we said, “Thy will be done.” Since our desire was
God’s will be done, we had our petitions that we desired right then. Because
God’s will is the only thing God does!She is better because it is God’s will!And now we pray with the same fervency thanking God for hearing us and doing
his will.

But what if
it had been God’s will not to heal
her? It would have been right and best. And God would have given us grace to
submit to his will.

If what
we ask what is not God’s will, God will not give his child what we ask. But by God
doing his will, God makes us submit
to his will. He teaches us what is best. And by doing so, he gives us what we
really want and brings us to rejoice in it.Take the apostle Paul for example:

2 Corinthians 12: 7:
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the
revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan
to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8: For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart
from me. 9: And he said unto me,
My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me. 10:
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in
persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I
strong.

If God
had granted Paul Paul’s will, Paul would have been puffed up in pride of his
flesh from the abundance of the revelations God gave him. He would not have
learned the sufficiency of God’s grace. Paul would not have learned that when
he is weak then is he strong in Christ. But by God doing his will, by God not
giving Paul what he prayed for, Paul found much greater rejoicing in Christ! And
that is what we really want!

Sometimes
you young people set your affection on things your parents give you like a
video game. You become so glued to it that you cease showing your parents
reverence when they call for you to do your chores. So your parents take away
the video game. Then you beg to have it back just like we ask God to give us
something our flesh wants. But your
father knows that you do not really want that video game more than what you
really want in your heart. So your father does not give you what you ask for.
And by not giving you what you asked for, he gave you what you really want, a
faithful, loving father who always does what is best for you. So it is with
God. The Psalmist said,

Psalm 66: 18: If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord
will not hear me: 19: But verily God HATH heard me; he
HATH attended to the voice of my prayer. 20: Blessed be God, which hath
NOT turned away my prayer, nor HIS MERCY from me.

If I
regard iniquity in my heart when I am asking God for that which my flesh wants,
God will not hear, that is, he will not give me the lust of my flesh. But by
not giving me the lust of my flesh God has heard me.He has attended to the voice of my prayer and
has given me what I really want, a faithful heavenly Father. So in the end God
brings us to thank him and praise him, saying, “Bless be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from
me.”

By giving
us his will, rather than our will, God gives us what we really want though it
may be totally different from what we asked.But by giving us God’s will, it is always much better than what we
asked. Christ said,

Luke 11: 11:
If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a
stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12: Or if he shall ask an egg, will he
offer him a scorpion? 13: If ye
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more
shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Consider
our Lord Jesus Christ. In the garden of Gethsemane our Lord Jesus asked in
faith, he asked aright and he asked in the right spirit when he prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup
pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Mt 26:
39)And God our Father did what God was
willing to do. He did not make the cup pass from our Substitute.Instead, he made him sin for his elect, made
him a curse for us and redeemed all his people from our sins.God our Father answered our Lord’s petition
and did what our Substitute prayed for, “thy
will be done.” Was it best, believer?
Indeed!God glorified his name in the
salvation of his people by the sacrifice of his Son! And that is what our Savior
wanted!

Knowing
that the prayer God hears and grants is that which is according to his will, it
helps us understand all the promises of God concerning prayer such as these:

1 John 3: 22: Whatever we ask, we receive of him.

John 14: 13: And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that
will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Believer,
do you always want to know you have the petition that you desire of God?Then whatsoever you ask, ask God to work his
will!The petition we desire of him is
“Thy will be done!”“And this is the confidence that we have in
him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we
know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions
that we desired of him.”

Our God
and heavenly Father, hears us always in Christ our Intercessor.He knows what is best for our souls, for His
glory, and therefore he does his will. By always doing his will, he always gives
us what we really want, a faithful heavenly Father!